The Mughals believed in the principle of survival of the fittest, and after the death of a Mughal king, the one who survived the war of succession became the emperor. During the reign of Shah Jahan, the war of succession started even before his death.
Shah Jahan had four sons—Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb, Murad, and Shuja. Dara was the governor of Multan and Kabul, Shuja was the governor of Bengal, Aurangzeb was the governor of the Deccan, and Murad was the governor of Gujarat.
Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657. Dara Shikoh was the favourite son of Shah Jahan and was expected to become the Badshah after his death. The other brothers were afraid that Dara might be declared emperor.
Shuja declared himself emperor in Bengal, and Murad also declared himself emperor in Gujarat. Shuja marched towards Agra. Shah Jahan sent forces under Jai Singh to face Shah Shuja. Shuja was defeated by Jai Singh and fled.
Aurangzeb made a pact with Murad and also marched towards Agra. Dara, along with Jaswant Singh, was dispatched to confront Aurangzeb. Dara Shikoh was defeated at the Battle of Dharmat. Subsequently, at the Battle of Samugarh, Dara Shikoh was again defeated and taken into custody.
Aurangzeb took control of Agra in June 1658. Shah Jahan was put under house arrest and continued to remain confined until his death. The only concession made to him was that he was kept in such an area of the fort from where he could see his creation, the Taj Mahal.
Aurangzeb then started eliminating all possible contenders. After his defeat, Dara fled to Sindh but was betrayed by Afghans and handed over to Aurangzeb. He was chained and paraded through the streets of Delhi on an elephant. A fake trial was conducted against Dara Shikoh on charges of heresy, and he was awarded the death sentence. Dara was beheaded. Aurangzeb did not stop there but sent his severed head to Shah Jahan. Dara’s son, Suleman Shikoh, was also imprisoned in Gwalior Fort and later poisoned to death.
Aurangzeb invited Murad for a drink and got him arrested. He charged Murad with the murder of a noble. A fake trial was conducted, and Murad was convicted and sent to prison in Gwalior Fort, where he was executed in 1661.
Shuja made another attempt and marched towards Delhi but was defeated and fled with his family to Burma. Under pressure from Aurangzeb, Shuja along with his two sons was also killed. Thus, Aurangzeb eliminated all rivals who could have contended for the throne.
